BHP has just signed a deal with L. Neil Smith to produce another original story in graphic novel form. We're going to sit on the details for a while, though. We're not sending out press releases just yet. Shhhh. It's a secret.

I can let folks know right now that I won't be drawing it. I'm busy with other projects, although I do hope to collaborate with Neil on other projects in the future. And I will be heavily involved with this new project, as editor. I promised Neil that I'd find a suitable artist and make sure whoever it is does at least as good a job as I would have done.

Neil has been talking about this new project on The Libertarian Enterprise so I might as well elaborate here as well.

The new project is titled "Time Peepers" and is set in a near-future America after a libertarian-led political movement has gotten a Moratorium Amendment to the Constitution passed. Under the Moratorium, no new laws can be passed for 100 years. Repeals are still permitted. The story concerns a small group of teenage friends from this Moratorium-blessed future who travel back to the present time and have an interesting adventure.

As I said before, there is no artist attached to the project yet. We're looking for a younger artist with a contemporary style that will appeal to all those young readers cluttering up the "manga" aisle at the Barnes & Noble. If you know a pro-level artist like this who might be interested have him or her send an e-mail with links to samples to submissions@bigheadpress.com

Scott: That last contribution of yours kind of jogs my memory about something that I haven't thought about for many years. I was the speechwriter for Libertarian Vice Presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen back in 1995-96.One of the commericals for her candidacy that I came up with had a futuristic city set in the year 2417. The next scene has a group of grade school age children with their teachers following a museum guide through the wing showing the history of the late 20th century. The guide asks the children "Can anyone tell me what was the most important political event in the United States in the late 20th century?" One little girl answers "It was the beginning of the rise of the Libertarian Party in America." "The repealed all of the unconstitutional laws that the Democrats and Republicans had enacted." "Drastically cut the size of the government and all of the spending." "Repealed the income tax and put the government back on the course the founding fathers intended it to be on." The guide says "That's exactly right." "All of the peace and freedom that we ejnoy today comes from them as opposed to what the Republican and Democratic parties had passed prior to their rise." The little girl asks "What would have happened if the Libertarian Party hadn't won?" The guide looks around and all of the other adults all shudder "That's something that I don't even want to think about."

I guess that's a sort of variation on the same general theme, but Time Peeper will be an adventure story with the Moratorium Act as part of the background. The story's heroes will see what their world was like before the Moratorium and have to deal with it.